Biden unfairly criticized on economy

There has been much criticism, especially from the Republicans, about how President Joe Biden and his administration handled the economy which led to inflation levels not seen since the 1980s. However, it seems that no one ever talks about the Federal Reserve’s role that contributed to inflation (“Inflation gauge closely watched by the Fed falls to lowest level since early 2021,” Oct. 31).

Remember Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell talking about transitory inflation? The Fed was late in combating inflation despite this being one of their key objectives in managing the economy.

If former President Donald Trump wins the election, both houses of Congress are won by the Republicans, and he carries out his promise to deport 10 million immigrants, imposes large tariffs on imports and cuts taxes (with a $36 trillion deficit), the United States will experience an economy much worse than the one experienced under the Biden administration.

By the way, how many of the Trump supporters gladly accepted the handouts from the Biden and Trump administrations when the economy was shut down?

— James O’Donnell, Catonsville

State retirees should have affordable drug coverage

I retired from the state of Maryland in 2016 thinking I would have my benefits for the rest of my life, but starting in January 2025 the state is taking away our prescription plan once you turn 65 (“Retired state workers face financial hardship,” Oct. 29).

At a recent meeting to discuss benefits, I was told drug coverage wasn’t affordable. Yet the state gets over a billion dollars every year from the lottery and officials recently bragged about how the state is receiving hundreds of millions more from legal marijuana sales. Yet it’s not affordable?

Maryland has provided benefits for certain undocumented people but they don’t have money for the retirees. This amounts to taking money from the retired to give it to people who aren’t even citizens.

State Sen. Mike McKay, a Republican who represents Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties, sponsored a bill, Senate Bill 349, to grandfather these benefits to all employees hired before 2011 but it never made it out of committee. If Democrats are for the middle class, why did they take away our prescription plan?

— Howard Johnson, Cumberland

Why so little talk of massive federal debt crisis?

The candidates for president of the United States have now made their closing arguments in an election that few could have imagined just a few months ago. And other than the lead-off question in June’s debate which was ignored by both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, there has been almost no mention, let alone discussion, of the $35 trillion federal debt piled up by presidents of both parties (“Harris promises to ‘put country above party and self’ in closing argument against Trump,” Oct. 29).

Neither party will be able to ignore this massive sum or shift the blame much longer. Interest paid on our debt will soon be second only to Social Security in the federal budget. That puts it ahead of defense spending, Medicare, education, veterans’ benefits, energy, infrastructure, food assistance, environment and every other priority. No matter who wins the White House or which party controls Congress, and regardless of their platforms and promises, there will be less money available to fund existing or proposed programs.

Perhaps the easiest way to understand the size and scope of the debt (which amounts to about $104,000 per American) and its effect on all of us, is by looking at it from a perspective most of us can relate to — that of a borrower. In the same way that the generationally high interest rates we are experiencing have priced a lot of families out of being able to buy a home and kept businesses from making important investments, the federal government is feeling a similar pinch, just of much greater magnitude.

And, just like those prospective homeowners or the business leaders noted above, we will have to forego certain things that we want or need due to our massive obligations to those holding our debts.

It’s time to let our senators, representatives and candidates for these offices know that we will support them in trying to find solutions to the debt crisis. It is the only responsible thing to do.

— Adam Dubitsky, Annapolis

The writer served as a policy director for Gov. Larry Hogan.